Hershey Bears advance to Calder Cup Finals with thrilling overtime victory
The Hershey Bears are roaring to the Calder Cup Finals for a league-leading 25th time in team history following a Game 7 overtime victory.
The Bears topped the Cleveland Monsters 3-2 in overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday and will now battle for their 13th Cup.
Garrett Roe was Hershey’s hero and punched their ticket to the Calder Cup Finals for the second-straight season.
How it happened
The first period was quiet until the Bears received the first penalty of the game. With less than two minutes left in the first, Cleveland’s Trey Fix-Wolansky buried the first goal of the game.
The Monsters’ celebration was short-lived however as the Bears tied the game almost immediately in the dying seconds of the period. Logan Day evened the score, breathing life back into the chocolate and white.
Just a little over three minutes into the second period Hershey was placed on a power play. Pierrick Dubé capitalized on the opportunity and put the Bears ahead 2-1 with his third goal of the playoffs.
The Monsters weren’t going down without a fight though.
The Bears suffered a penalty early in the third period but were able to kill the power play thanks to a huge save by Shepard with 23 seconds left for the Monsters’ man advantage.
Cleveland didn’t let up and tied the game 2-2 with 5:52 left in regulation courtesy of James Malatesta who netted his first of the playoffs, forcing overtime for the fourth time in this series.
Garrett Roe fulfilled every hockey players dream and netted the overtime goal to send the Bears on a quest for their 13th Calder Cup, clinching the Calder Cup Finals berth.
Shots were 44-30 in favor of Cleveland.
What’s Next
The Bears will battle for the Calder Cup against the Coachella Valley Firebirds for the second-straight season.
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